Sydney Whale Watching Cruise from Circular Quay
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Sydney, Australia
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Cruise the ocean waters to look for humpback and southern right whales as they migrate between Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef. Your whale-watching experience starts from Sydney Harbour and heads to the open ocean on a custom-built catamaran with large viewing windows and spacious decks that provide excellent sightlines. Often, dolphins, seabirds, and other marine animals make an appearance during the whale-watching tour, which lasts a couple of hours.
- The open-air viewing decks provide great whale-watching opportunities
- Enjoy the picturesque sights of Sydney Harbour on your way to the open ocean
- Cruises are seasonal, running only between May and November
- Depart from Circular Quay, an easy-to-find central-city location
What's Included
- Live commentary on board
- 2.5 Hour Whale Watching Cruise
- Food and drinks (available to purchase)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Circular Quay Wharf 6Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
Please check in at least 20 minutes prior to departure to collect tickets from the ticket office located at the departure wharf Circular Quay Wharf 6.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Sydney Harbour
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Most travelers can participate
- Please dress appropriately and wear warm clothing. It will often feel cooler at sea
- If you are susceptible to travel sickness, please bring the relevant medication
- Whale Guarantee: If a whale is not sighted during your cruise, you'll be given the opportunity to cruise again for free
- Reconfirmation Hotline - Call +61-2-8062 3623 from 7.15am on the day of your cruise to confirm the cruise is going ahead. Cruises may be cancelled subject to weather conditions.
- Whale Watching Child Policy: Infants 0-3 years are not recommended. Child fare available for Children 4-15 years. Minimum of one supervising adult for every four children is required.
- Not recommended for travelers 3 years and younger
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 120 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Lisa_M
Fantastic morning whale watching! The tour guides were fantastic, all the boat staff were! We seen lots of pods. Would definitely do this tour again.
Reviews
4.3
based on 207 reviews
Isabel_I, Nov 2025
While the trip indicates you can sign up for a free ride if you do not see any whales- that doesn’t help someone like me from out of the country and likely to not have another time to do this. We did not see any whales on this trip.
Silvia_T, Nov 2025
The guide was quite nice and we managed to see a little group of whales and hang around them without rush. Very recommended!
fionajackson12, Oct 2025
Beautiful trip. Not too rough waters and they give barf bags just in case. The tour guide was very informative and taught us a lot about whales in general. Got to see a mother, her baby, and their escort. Beautiful day
desi_s, Oct 2025
I thought we may see a whale fin in the distance, but nope, we were treated to consistent breaching of the water by a baby whale her mum was regularly surfacing. This went on for a good 15 minutes. Very enjoyable.
Tip - sit on the top of the boat (in the open air) and in the front.
- bring a hoodie or long-sleeved top as it can get cool out in the sea.
Kay_P, Oct 2025
Disappointing. You could not hear the commentary on the upper deck. People were crowding the rails upstairs and finally asked to go downstairs for safety if not seated. No advice given regarding etiquette so everyone on both sides got to see whales, people just moved from side to side blocking others views. Other smaller boats in the same area had better viewing of the whales it was like we had to give priority viewing to the smaller vessels. Would not book again.
Frank_S, Oct 2025
Whales are special animals because they do whatever they want to do. If they show up they do, if they don't, they don't. We were fortunate to have our crew bring us near a few pods and saw some whale tales and hump backs. Our crew even brought us near a few sunbathing Seals. All in all, a great cruise. Enoy!1
Jennett_V, Oct 2025
This was an epic trip. We were able to see a couple of whales pop out of the ocean. The crew were super friendly and we felt safe while on the boat. Highly recommend!
Barbara_B, Oct 2025
This experience delivered! We saw whales breach so many times! Simply amazing! Mother & calf! Highly recommend
Carson_L, Oct 2025
We really enjoyed watching the whales. As soon as we left the harbour we saw whales. They were breaching and playing it was beautiful. The boat kept us on whales the entire time.
I would definitely prepare for this trip with medicine or patches if you get sea sick. We had a lot of other people around us get sick. They give out throw up bags but probably avoidable with medicine. Not sure if it’s normally that rough tho.
The speaker was great and very knowledgeable
Sheila_B, Oct 2025
The sea was very choppy and many passengers were sick. However, there were multiple sightings of whales, fins, blowholes etc so it was a wonderful experience. We came from England to visit our son and his family who emigrated last year.
Belinda_B, Oct 2025
Be ready with a thrilling feelings😂😄
But then it was a good experience though😊😊🌸🌸
Appreciated the nice scenery and of course the whales 🐳
Gary_S, Oct 2025
Amazing experience loved it!!! The breaching Humpbacks were amazing. I think a little refreshments would be a good idea. Because there is nothing for 2.5hrs unless you take your own.
Glen_B, Oct 2025
Only negative was the attendees were crowding around railing constantly blocking others photo opportunities. Need clear guidelines to share space and enforce them !!! The guide is as good. She asked people to step back for others and not as rudely ignored. Made for a disappointing experience.
Nasia_N, Oct 2025
It was such a great experience! There is no guarantee that you will see whales, but right as we got out, we saw some breaching and being so active in the water! We even saw sea lions on the way back! The guide was so knowledgeable, a great speaker, and a kind human being. Would 100% recommend to anyone wanting the chance to see some of the most beautiful creatures in nature.
Jia_L, Sep 2025
A wonderful journey
It was a wonderful journey, extremely exciting. During this trip, we saw many whales leaping out of the water and several very cute dolphins.
Tony_c, Sep 2025
Highly recommend this whale watching experience. Friendly, and knowledgeable crew. Got to see many whale sightings.
Lisa_M, Sep 2025
Fantastic morning whale watching! The tour guides were fantastic, all the boat staff were! We seen lots of pods. Would definitely do this tour again.
Laura_C, Aug 2025
Great experience, we saw many whales and a few also did big jumps. The commentary was very interesting but it was hard to hear in the back of the boat, which is the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars. They are also well accustomed to visitors being sea sick and had everything needed. Overall, it was great!
Chris_M, Aug 2025
Fantastic encounter with a calf in the breech position. Was worried that it was a bit late in the season but no problem.
Some confusion over tickets with staff wondering around saying you needed your QR code to get on and if you didn’t have it your should go to the ticket counter and get it printed out. Well I only had a barcode that I had put in my apple wallet -
Nicola_K, Aug 2025
We took our trip in August so knew we were less likely to see the whales.
We were out for almost an hour and a half before the first sighting and it was just a glimpse.
We had two further sightings bit again, just a glimpse.
The guide was informative.
David_H, Jul 2025
Whale watching outside Sydney harbour, weather perfect ( a bit cold ) Whales made an appearance so day was successful.
Yubraj_B, Jul 2025
Wonderful experience
Would have been more fun if there were few more dives by whales.
Loved it.
Must go to see world largest mammals once in a life.
Pratik_G, Jul 2025
Worst experience. Don't go. The lady doesn't know anythign about whales. There is no guarantee that you will see a whale. They say there is a whale guarantee. But, if you don't see any whales, you have to take the tour again and they won't refund or offer alternate cruise options. Like this company runs different tours, but you must take only whale watching tour. And almost half of the people on cruise will vomit as the waters are rough. Do not. I repeat. Do not go on this tour. Avoid it at all costs.
Wambui_O, Jul 2025
This was an excellent boat tour. We had 3 sightings of whales flapping their tails at great proximity. Not sure why I was expecting humpback whales jumping out of the water 😂 but what we saw was still great. The boat ride was a thrill in itself if you don’t get sea sick. Multiple ppl were sea sick and bag were provided ahead of time so there were no accidents 🥴. The view leaving the city, or the landscape while looking for seals and back to the city was excellent. Saw Sydney Opera house from different view that on land. I mostly took videos.
Leona_S, Jul 2025
Definitely worth it! We saw two whales and kind of followed them but were mostly standing still, so it was quite nice to watch. Gina and Kai (I think these were their names) were our guides and they were super knowledgeable about the behaviors of the whales and they were super kind, I got seasick though so if you have a weak stomach like me, be prepared! They hand out bags in the beginning though.
Jane_H, Jul 2025
We were lucky to see lots of whales very close up. It was an exciting experience. One of the stand out features apart from the whales, was the young man (Kia?), he was brilliant. Helping people and generally making the trip even more enjoyable.
Nicole_J, Jul 2025
I tend to gravitate away from large group tours. I think the captain was great. I just think the ship doesn't have enough open space for the amount of people that want to see. People tend to shove which is just not something I care for, not necessarily the hostess fault however a smaller tour would have been better for me.
Danielle_D, Jun 2025
Gina was friendly and knowledgeable. We saw beautiful whales near the boat. At least 3 pods and 1 breech. A great experience
Heikki_L, Jun 2025
A great experience! Loads of majestic humpback whales spotted. Sea can be a bit rough. Friendly and welcoming staff.
Grace_W, Jun 2025
Really lovely experience. Check-in was simple, and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the whales.
From $59.30
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Sydney Whale Watching Cruise from Circular Quay
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